For all one or two of the people out there on the internet who may actually be reading this, I wanted to explain why I haven’t posted in a while.
It seems this website was recently targeted by an internet spammer. As a result, my site was “suspended” while the Authorities investigated. Once I was cleared of any potential wrong-doing, my site was un-suspended. Thankfully, eveything is back to normal.
But that doesn’t really put me at ease. In fact, I’m still pretty angry about the whole thing. Have you ever stopped to think about who it is that is sending all that SPAM to your email address? Or where those spyware programs come from? It’s not as if SPAM is this self-perpetuating monster that lives within the confines of the internet infrastructure. There is actually a person out there somewhere (probably sitting at their computer right now) who is responsible for each of those emails crowding your inbox. And they are making a lot of money.
How do these people live with themselves? They make tons of money by relentlessly invading your privacy with emails of an often disreputable nature, to put it mildly. And what makes it worse, is that it is so easy for them. They do it all from the confines of their desk chair without so much as breaking a sweat.
Furthermore, shouldn’t these people be prosecuted? I know legal action against spammers has begun to occur, but what is stopping the legal system with charging many more people with these crimes? And they are crimes. Not only are people’s personal spaces invaded, but also this is a drain on our economy. How many millions of dollars are spent protecting people from spyware and SPAM by creating and distributing pop-up blockers, antivirus software, SPAM gaurds, and other such programs? How many hours are sacraficed developing these tools? Just think of all the productivity that is lost by this diversion of money and man-hours. Shouldn’t those responsible be held to the consequences of their actions?
Take Dale Begg-Smith, for example. Begg-Smith recently won the gold medal in Moguls at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy for the Australian team. Good for him.
Sadly, Mr. Begg-Smith’s moment in the spotlight has been tarnished by reports of his shady business dealings. Apparently, Begg-Smith, or “Spam Man” as he has come to be called, is the founder of a web pop-up company reportedly worth $40 million. When asked questions about his company, he was a little hesitant to answer. Sounds like he is ashamed. He should be.
The International Olympic Committee’s Web site reports that Begg-Smith boasted that his company was the third largest of its kind. Keep in mind that this is a company that infects other people’s computer with spyware using “driveby downloads” and other tricks of the trade.
What did the Spam Man get for all of this? A $300,000 Lamborghini, for one. Who knows what else. If you ask me, he should be prosecuted and have his gold medal taken way.
Been listening to this one a lot, pretty much the whole way through.
This novel was published after the Chilean-Mexican author's death, and I'm not even sure if it was entirely finished or not. It is broken up into five parts which, while connected, stand pretty much on there own. I have not yet made it to the grim part about the murders of hundreds of women in Mexico, so I have so far found it enjoyable and even funny despite some dark underpinnings. It's had a ton of critical praise, and I like it much more than my last foray into the violent novel genre: Blood Meridian.